1) Cut Copy, Free Your Mind. “After 2011’s somewhat introverted Zonoscope, the Melbourne foursome’s return to the bounce of their breakthrough second record, 2008’s In Ghost Colours, is welcome. ‘We Are Explorers’ is the closest to that album, its melody evoking the innocence and verve of their most well-known song, ‘Hearts On Fire.’ The biggest props on Free Your Mind are paid to the more rave-focused side of Manchester’s Factory Records.” (via NPR)

2) The Sounds, Weekend. “The Sounds had a simple plan of attack for their fifth album. Frontwoman Maja Ivarsson tells SPIN that she and her bandmates wanted to ‘capture what we do best — which is putting on a great live show.’ [Weekend is] an 11-track full-length that honors the punky grooves of the Sounds’ signature, uh, sound (see ‘Shake Shake Shake’ and ‘Take It the Wrong Way’), while delving into new territory (check out the slow-burning title track).” (via SPIN)

3) Zula, This Hopeful. “New York psych-pop explorers Zula aren’t easy to pin down, but while their sound shifts track to track, there is a beautiful coherence to an album like This Hopeful. With their electronics-addled and fuzz-infused compositions — plus those wry and mournful vocals — Zula at times recall left-fielders Fog or even the slowcore of Idaho. But then a track like the titular one will burst through like a beam of sunlight through a hazy sky.” (via SPIN)

5) Super Wild Horses, Crosswords. “Australian duo Super Wild Horses [land] an official release in the U.S. Members Amy Franz and Hayley McKee crafted much of the full-length in an unused butter factory and then finessed the material with added instrumentation, percussion, and vocals. Featuring nods to country and soul (including a lo-fi cover of Smokey Robinson’s ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me’), Crosswords delivers 13 tracks of bubblegum garage rock.” (via SPIN)

6) Melvins, Tres Cabrones. “The ever-restless Melvins are returning for their, oh, let’s say 22nd studio album, Tres Cabrones. The quirky, rubbery, LP finds King Buzzo reuniting with original Melvins drummer Mike Dillard for their first full set of original songs since they recorded a collection of demos in 1983. Hear the band in an especially jolly mood, banging through presumably public domain American classics like ’99 Bottles of Beer’ and ‘Tie My Pecker to a Tree.'” — SPIN (via Pitchfork)

7) Yelawolf and DJ Paul, Black Fall EP. “Yelawolf and DJ Paul join forces on their collaborative Black Fall EP. Hosted by DJ Whoo Kid, the five-track project includes the songs ‘Get Straight,’ ‘Mastermind,’ ‘Bowties,’ ‘Party Prophet,’ and ‘Lightswitch.’ DJ Paul and Rittz appear as features on the free project released right in time for Halloween.” — MissInfo (via DatPiff)

8) Curren$y, Smoke DZA, and Harry Fraud, The Stage EP. “We’re convinced that Curren$y could debut a new project bi-weekly if he saw fit. His latest opus comes in the form of an EP done in collaboration with Smoke DZA and Harry Fraud … With that lineup, we know two things are certain: bars will be smooth, playeristic even, and the production will follow suit… The closing cut, ’10 Bricks,’ featur[es] Big K.R.I.T. and French Montana.” — Hip-Hop Wired (via DatPiff)

9) Swearin’, Surfing Strange. “With Surfing Strange, out Nov. 4, Swearin’ is up from two singers to three, and the personalities at play are even more distinct. [Allison] Crutchfield’s vocals are soft and rounded and tend to sink into their noisy surroundings, letting her tone and the heft of her breaths do as much talking as the words themselves. [Kyle] Gilbride is the best shouter of the bunch, with a nasal edge that could strip paint off hardwood.” (via NPR)

10) Luscious Jackson, Magic Hour. “Luscious Jackson, the Manhattan-born, now bicoastal band of rhythm gluttons whose hits (remember ‘Naked Eye’?) were among the most pleasurable alternative rock produced in the ’90s, demonstrates exactly how to do that. On Magic Hour, its first album in fourteen years, the group gives instructions in fun, love, loyalty and self-appreciation with ten songs that go down as easy as drummer Kate Schellenbach’s backbeats.” (via NPR)